NBA Baseline: Maybe Manu has some Messi in him

If you believe in omens, a soccer match in Barcelona, Spain, last week might have given hope to Spurs’ fans demoralized by the strained right hamstring that has kept Manu Ginobili out of the lineup since March 29.

Lionel Messi, Ginobili’s soccer superstar pal and likely the only contemporary athlete more popular in Argentina than Ginobili, has been dealing with the same ailment that has sidelined the Spurs’ guard.

But in FC Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal series game against Paris St.-Germain at Camp Nou stadium on Wednesday, Messi came off the bench in the second half and helped his team advance to the semifinal round of what amounts to the Champions League playoffs.

According to a New York Times account of the game, it was Messi’s deft pass to teammate David Villa that set up a progression that produced the game-tying goal.

If nothing else, Messi’s success while not 100 percent healthy likely put Ginobili in a good frame of mind as his own team’s playoffs approach.